A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mirrors of the type generally used by people to assist in shaving, applying facial cosmetics and performing other personal hygiene tasks,. More particularly, the invention relates to a magnifying mirror having an integral annular-shaped illuminator which effectively illuminates a face or other object positioned close to the surface of the mirror.
B. Description of Background Art
Mirrors used by individuals to view the face while applying cosmetics, shaving, or performing other tasks related to an individual's appearance or personal hygiene are of two main types. The first type includes the relatively large, typically rectangular mirrors which are mounted at eye level on a wall or bathroom wall cabinet. The other type of mirror includes relatively smaller oval or circular mirrors having a diameter of about 8 inches, and which may be mounted in a handle, on a support stand attachable to a wall or other structure, or on a free-standing support stand which may be placed on the horizontal upper surface of a dresser, vanity cabinet or the like. Mirrors of the second category may be flat, providing a unity magnification. However, for certain applications, such mirrors may have a concave, usually spherical reflecting surface, thus producing a magnified image of an object such as the face, when it is placed between the reflective surface of the mirror and its focal point, which is located at the center of curvature of the mirror.
Thus, for example, when a person who may be somewhat nearsighted wishes to install or remove their contact lenses, flat mirrors having a one-to-one, or unity, magnification factor may be inadequate for the task. In such cases, it would be desirable to use a concave, magnifying mirror, typically having a magnification factor in the approximate range of about three times to several times (3 X to 7 X). Magnifying mirrors are also used routinely to assist in performing with greater ease and/or more precision such tasks as applying cosmetics, shaving and performing other activities related to personal appearance or hygiene.
Although the uses of magnifying mirrors may be desirable or even necessary for performing certain of the tasks referred to above, the use of existing magnifying mirrors can be problematic, for the following reason. Since the face of a person using a magnifying mirror must be located quite close to the concave reflecting surface of the mirror, ambient illumination of the face is substantially blocked, both by the mirror and the person's head. Thus, although features of the face which one wishes to view are magnified, they may be so deeply shaded as to be difficult to view.
In apparent recognition of the problem of adequately illuminating the face of a person positioned close to the surface of a magnifying mirror, a variety of solutions have been proposed. One such solution utilizes one or more light sources positioned around the periphery of a magnifying mirror. A second solution to the problem of illuminating the face of a person placed close to the surface of a magnifying mirror utilizes a light source positioned within the periphery of the mirror, the source penetrating the mirror and directing rays of light forward to at least a portion of a person's face close to the light source. A third approach to illuminating a face positioned near the surface of a magnifying mirror utilizes an annular light diffuser ring or "halo" which encircles a circular magnifying mirror. The diffuser ring is typically illuminated by an incandescent lamp located behind the mirror.
Each of the aforementioned existing approaches to illuminating an object such as a face positioned sufficiently close to the surface of a concave mirror to afford a clear magnified image of the object possesses certain inherent disadvantages. For example, the first method requires a plurality of illumination sources, and does not provide circumferentially uniform illumination of the face. The second method provides even less uniform illumination of the face, since the light rays from the single source are directed only to a portion of the face, while the rest of the face is not illuminated at all by the light source. The third method inefficiently directs the light over a large solid angle from an annular diffuser, thereby requiring an excessively bright, high powered light source to achieve the desired levels of illumination of the face. As a general rule, existing mirrors use light sources which produce diverging beams of light which are inherently ineffective in illuminating an object located close to the surface of the mirror. External light sources used with prior art mirrors also tend to be bulky and can produce undesirable heat and glare, especially when a person's face is positioned close to the mirror. The present invention was conceived of to provide a magnifying mirror having an integral light source which efficiently illuminates a person's face located close to the surface of the mirror.